Before the MCU, Chris Hemsworth Was on a Very Different Path

When plainly put, the Marvel Cinematic Universe helped to make massive stars out of celebrities who were previously just drifting in and out of movies. For example — after starring in many, many films since 1970 that either barely passed at the box office (regarding ticket sales) or flat-out failed, Robert Downey Jr. flew to the sky with his role as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man.

Right before donning the role of the red, white, and blue hero in 2011’s Captain America, Chris Evans was plagued with a line of mediocrely successful films (including a dead-on-arrival romantic comedy that almost ruined his career). Although they were successful in their own right, Tom Hiddleston was in only two films before becoming the God of Mischief for 2011’s Thor. Speaking of the first feature film starring the son of Odin, Chris Hemsworth was on a weird trajectory as well.

With only a single film role to his name before this (that being Captain Kirk in J.J Abrams’ Star Trek), the tall, charismatic actor who was best known for being a comic book-based superhero actually stepped into the shoes of a psychotic nomad. Directed and written by David Twohy, 2009’s A Perfect Getaway not only showcased a much younger Hemsworth. The hour-and-a-half thriller also starred the likes of Steve Zahn (Your Place or Mine, Dallas Buyers Club) and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil and Zoolander) in its small but intimate cast. Zahn and Jovovich would play a seemingly joyous couple (Cliff and Cydney) whose honeymoon trip would lead them deep into Hawaii’s natural habitat to find a remote but beautiful beach. But, the happy-go-lucky adventure soon turns from fun to frightening.

Chris Hemsworth’s Pre-MCU Movies and TV Shows:

Hemsworth Was No Hero In This Movie

News comes in from a few hikers that there are loose killers in the immediate vicinity. As the location is quite isolated (nothing but forestry) and cell phone service is spotty at best, the mystery of who is actually behind the killings remains a suspenseful high point until the third act. A Perfect Getaway is not an award-winning movie, but most viewers would end up agreeing with The New York Times’s view, that it was, in fact, a “genuinely satisfying cheap thrill.” Suffice it to say, Hemsworth’s Kale Gerrity is not the slasher, but director Twohy sure makes him out to be a psychological nemesis for our main characters.

Just a few minutes after meeting Cliff and Cydney as they drive through the wilderness, we then watch as they first come into contact with Kale’s wife, Cleo, who is trying to flag down a vehicle. She immediately befriends Cydney. But as Cliff becomes more and more hesitant about accepting the passengers, the shot turns to Hemsworth, who is standing just outside the backseat passenger door of the car. With the angle from inside the car cutting off just his face, this humongous figure goes from speaking casually to immediately and aggressively snapping at Cleo to leave them alone. It really is surprising (and refreshing) to see such a nasty demeanor emanate out of someone who would later manifest as a lovable MCU character.

Playing The Role Perfectly

A later sequence of A Perfect Getaway shows more of Hemsworth’s early but undeniable range. When his inevitable face reveal is executed, the persona that he presents combined with the barrage of dialogue he delivers definitely makes him the scariest one of the pack. He seemingly already knows the biggest unsaid secret of the movie, and he’s not afraid to use it to his advantage (even though the viewer is unsure of what this undisclosed piece of info actually is).

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Only 20 minutes in, Hemsworth is successful in grabbing the audience’s attention in a way that would be opposite to his future Marvel legacy. The next time the audience sees Kale will be the last, as he and his wife are surrounded and arrested because a set of teeth are found in his belongings. While the climactic moment leads audiences to believe that they nabbed the right person, the movie dives deeper into the still-active wrongdoers.

The soon-to-be member of The Avengers was definitely in a different state of mind in A Perfect Getaway. By bringing a much more aggressive but calculating tone to the movie, the actor not only made a space for himself but also successfully counterbalanced the numerous character portrayals around him. Both the audience and critics alike never stopped wondering why it was so easy for this brute to see through the many lies placed in front of him. What we do know is this — for how small this role was, his dedication to the craft helped him to achieve his legacy soon after.

A Perfect Getaway is available to stream on YouTube, Prime Video, and Apple TV.